Beacon.

IRONMAN 2 - Echoes of the Past

*Little bit of a spice warning ahead.

STARK EXPO – FLUSHING, NEW YORK.

The Stark Expo is like a cross between a Worlds Fair and Disney World in upstate NewYork. The main stage is at least the size of a gymnasium floor and is currently lit in red and gold. A past capacity crowd fill the seats and every available place to stand.

Back stage Kindle Singer stands with her ever present tablet overseeing the logistics of Tony's latest project. She should have said no, put her foot down, they had more important work to do but it was hard to say no to Tony Stark at the best of times. When you were desperately in love with him and were the only person who knew he was slowly being poisoned by the same tech that was keeping him alive... well it complicated thing.

A voice in her communicator pipes up. "270 at 30 knots. Holding steady at 15000 feet. You are clear for exfiltration over the drop zone."

Kindle looks up and spots the navigation lights of the cargo plane they had chartered, Tony already had plans for something he called more "on brand" but there were more pressing issues at the moment.

ACDC's Shoot to Thrill starts to play over every speaker in a three mine radians. Tony's jumps from the hold of the plane and his repulsors fire allowing her to track his movements in the sky.

She signals the carefully coordinated fireworks display and watches as he flies flawlessly through them. He blasts towards the ground and at the last moment somersaults mid air to land on the lit circle at the front of the stage. The pyrotechnics go off and dancing girls doing a kick line dressed in iron man themed hot pants and crop tops complete with glowing"arc reactors" and "flight stabilizes".

Out of the circular platform a stripped down version of the mechanism that assembles and dismantles the Iron Man suit deploys and in moments Tony stands in front of the crowd in a flawless pinstriped Armani tux. The crowd goes nuts as the dancing girls leave and start chanting.

"Tony! Tony! Tony! Tony!"

Tony surveys them with an excited look, his face flushed with the rush and adoration. "It's good to be back. You missed me?" He calls out.

"Blow something up!" A man in the crowd asks.

Tony grins. "I missed you too. Blow something up? I already did that." The crowd cheers in response.

"I'm not saying that the world is enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace in years because of me. I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity, never has a greater phoenix metaphor been personified in human history." He holds his hands out and gives a little bow.

"I'm not saying that Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair, sipping on an iced tea because I haven't come across anyone who's man enough to go toe-to-toe with me on my best day." He voice rises and they cheer like maniacs.

A woman in crowd screams out. "I love you Tony!"

Tony smirks but dramatically pulls himself together, he knows Kindle is back stage rolling her eyes... and maybe tasking JARVIS to make sure the woman in the crowd isn't a crazy stalker.

"Please, it's not about me." The crowd starts to quiet down. "It's not about you. It's not even about us. It's about legacy. It's about what we choose to leave behind for future generations."

He pauses dramatically. "And that's why for the next year and for the first time since 1974, the best and brightest men and women of nations and corporations the world over will pool their resources, share their collective vision, to leave behind a brighter future." He shakes his head. "It's not about us. Therefore, what I'm saying, if I'm saying anything, is welcome back to the Stark Expo." There is a big cheer from crowd.